Re: Installed base
>RISC-V has a problem with the installed base...
RISC-V may be relatively unknown but the general architecture is well known and widely used. Its similar to the MIPS or the soft processors like the Microblaze that is an IP option for a Xilinx FPGA. I've built numerous things with them and they work fine; the first place I'm likely to come across a RISC-V would be a replacement for the Micos-II in a Lattice FPGA as manufacturers coalesce around standard, open, designs.
We get bombarded by everything having to be the latest and fastest that we tend to forget that there are a lot of workhorse processors out there. This is actually how the ARM got traction -- it was initially a low power processor that's main claim to fame being it had a tiny footprint and modest software needs so could easily be incorporated into a ASIC design to do things like manage front panels and communications that were efficient to implement in hardware. Current ARMs tend to be as complex as an x86 which leaves a niche for a reasonable performance, low power and small footprint processor.